About the book

John Ridd recalls growing up on Exmoor in the shadow of the feared Doone family, whose violence has touched his own household. An encounter with Lorna creates an attachment that cannot be separated from the danger associated with her surroundings. Blackmore places the romance within a richly described world of farms, weather, local custom, and difficult terrain, allowing ordinary labour to coexist with episodes of peril. The seventeenth-century setting also brings national political unrest into the region's private disputes. John's retrospective voice combines strength, practical observation, and an often modest account of his own understanding. The novel's appeal lies in the pressure between inherited enmity and personal knowledge, as affection asks him to judge an individual differently from the name and circumstances that appear to define her.

Love and enmity
Rural life
Loyalty

Why read it

For a historical romance whose adventure grows from an unusually tangible landscape of farms, weather, and local memory.

English text

Contents and reading sections

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
Section 24
Section 25
Section 26
Section 27
Section 28
Section 29
Section 30
Section 31
Section 32
Section 33
Section 34
Section 35
Section 36
Section 37
Section 38
Section 39
Section 40
Section 41
Section 42
Section 43
Section 44
Section 45
Section 46
Section 47
Section 48
Section 49
Section 50
Section 51
Section 52
Section 53
Section 54
Section 55
Section 56
Section 57
Section 58
Section 59
Section 60
Section 61
Section 62
Section 63
Section 64
Section 65
Section 66
Section 67
Section 68
Section 69
Section 70
Section 71
Section 72
Section 73
Section 74
Section 75
Section 76
Section 77
Section 78
Section 79
Section 80
Section 81
Section 82
Section 83
Section 84
Section 85
Section 86
Section 87
Section 88
Section 89
Section 90
Section 91
Section 92
Section 93
Section 94
Section 95
Section 96
Section 97
Section 98
Section 99
Section 100
Section 101
Section 102
Section 103
Section 104
Section 105
Section 106
Section 107
Section 108
Section 109
Section 110
Section 111
Section 112
Section 113
Section 114
Section 115
Section 116
Section 117
Section 118
Section 119
Section 120
Section 121
Section 122
Section 123
Section 124

About the book

Why read it

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